Who Wastes the Most Time at Work?

After sitting in my lonely cubicle, staring at blank walls with no windows in sight, listening to various conversations throughout the office and drifting off, I started thinking about great of an idea it would be to write an article for the divine Associated Content website about the work habits across America. We are all slackers to a certain extent. We are Americans. The lazy gene was born in us, as if it were some invisible fabric of our DNA that keeps us from being productive at work. Gone are the days of getting our hands dirty, pulling crops, and earning your living. In fact, the phrase "earning your living" is vastly overrated these days, in regards to productivity. What we have "earned" is a cushy salaried position with full benefits, two breaks during the day, a lot of social time, and a few hours of work if we can fit it in our schedule. After all, we are busy people, right? The thing I'm most curious about is who exactly wastes the most time at work? With the help of an America Online Survey, I'll break down the different scenarios. What I found will blow your mind away. By the way, if you're reading this while you're at work then make sure your boss isn't coming.

Men versus Women

Every office is different and the demographics for each office vary tremendously. In my busy real estate office, women seem to have the majority population but, in my opinion, men are much bigger wasters of time than the women. You'll often find the men huddled around a computer looking at new paparazzi bikini pictures of Jessica Biel or the latest stats on the Patriots/Colts game. And, of course, there is always the "bad employee club," made up mostly of employees that procrastinate their work pile and choose to socialize with other bad employee club members. They urge others to join in on the fun so they can justify and feel better about their poor work habits. In my office, this club is dominated by men. But what did the America Online survey say? According to this survey, men and women waste the same amount of time each day. I don't make up the results, folks, I just report them. I always suspected that women would have the higher distraction rate, as from my experience they like to talk on the phone or find new friends on their Myspace accounts. However, the results to the survey show that men and women waste, on average, 2.1 hours per day. Now that's equality for ya!

Industry versus Industry

Although I feel this is an interesting comparison, I feel that there must be a set of rules and guidelines in order to address the different types of businesses. For instance, I work in a real estate office where I am paid solely by commission. If I waste time at work, the only wallet that it is affecting ultimately is mine, not the companies, because the company does not have a penny invested in me. Salaried individuals are being paid for their time, the most precious commodity, not necessarily just their production. With this said, when you're reading over these comparisons try to keep an open mind about what type of company it is. The AOL survey found that the number one industry for the most wasted time during the day is Insurance, at a rate of 2.5 wasted hours per day. And to think my rep over at Nationwide was earning his money! This is followed closely by Public Sector jobs at 2.4 hours per day, and Education falls in behind at 2.2 hours per day. Other industries mentioned in the top five are research and development and software/internet industries. If your position does not fall under these industries then I applaud you, even though you're probably taking time from work to read this article.

Young versus Elderly.

Here's where I think most of you will be surprised. I'm a twenty six year old real estate agent, and most of my life I've heard the phrase "You damn kids are good for nothing" regarding everything, whether it's playing loud music or working to make a living. Just once I was hoping America Online would come to my rescue and providing just the statistics I need for a formal rebuttal. Not this time. The America Online survey only adds fuel to their fire by stating the older an individual is, the less likely they'll waste time at work. According to their survey, individuals born between 1950-1959 waste .50 hours per day while those born between 1980-1985 waste 1.95 hours per day. Ouch.

State versus State.

The last comparison that I'm going to make is most waste time by state. According to the America Online survey, the most time wasted is the Midwest, while the least amount of time wasted seems to be the South. That's great news for this Carolina boy. The top state for wasting time was Missouri at 3.2 hours per day, while Indiana wasn't even a close second at 2.8 hours per day. What do you folks from Missouri do during the day? Goodness, gracious! The top five is rounded out with Kentucky, Wisconsin, and Nevada. I'd also like to add that South Carolina and North Carolina are among the nation's top states for least amount of time wasted.

While this article is intended for fun, I encourage all of us to be the best employee possible and respect those that gave you the job. Wasting time at work is only hurting those who gave you the opportunity when most companies wouldn't.